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May 17, 2022 08:38AM
sadiesservant
wrote:
I think I’ve commented on my radiation treatments recently but will circle back given the conversation. I’ve had five separate treatments for bone met related pain since being diagnosed as metastatic in late 2016. It’s hard to remember the order of treatments now but I believe the first treatment was due to sudden onset of severe sciatica after progression on Arimidex. It was ridiculous in that I could barely stand in the morning, going to the bathroom was an adventure. One zap of the lumbar spine took care of the issue. Then, despite everything appearing to be stable, I later needed a zap to my right hip (I was having trouble walking) and then my sacrum. I have extensive bone mets which seem to progress slightly in spots.
I next had an issue with numbness and tingling in my right arm/hand. MRI didn’t show progression but I was having some facial numbness and, for the first time, they flagged skull mets and mets to my cervical spine. Apparently this is unusual (although I have certainly heard from many here who have skull mets) so they don’t typically scan for them - bone scans are useless for me so they didn’t show up. We took a wait and see approach given potential complications but about a year later I started getting severe headaches. Five sessions of rads to the base of my skull and upper c-spine resolved the issue. Now, last week, I finished five sessions to my c-spine/thoracic spine as a new lesion was impinging the nerves causing significant right shoulder pain and numbness of my right arm. I’m still recovering with no signs of improvement yet but I think there is quite a bit of inflammation from the treatment, despite the steroids. It can take several weeks to see results so I am trying to be patient, hoping there isn’t any permanent nerve damage.
I’ve never had SBRT. My understanding from my RO is that it would not have been appropriate in my case as it is very high intensity with the potential to cause significant collateral damage in delicate areas like the spine. Instead my RO chose a more targeted beam delivered over multiple sessions.
Wish me luck on recovery. I’m desperate to get off of the steroids - so sleep deprived! (And tired of the nasty taste. Yuck!) I tried to taper back but had to increase the dose again as the numbness was getting worse and there was a bit of breakthrough pain. I may try to dial it back again on Thursday. Here’s hoping.
Dx
4/2001, IDC, Right, 1cm, Stage IIA, Grade 3, 1/10 nodes, ER+
Surgery
5/11/2001 Lumpectomy; Lumpectomy (Right); Lymph node removal; Lymph node removal (Right): Sentinel, Underarm/Axillary
Chemotherapy
6/8/2001 CEF
Radiation Therapy
12/17/2001 Whole breast: Breast
Hormonal Therapy
12/20/2001 Tamoxifen pills (Nolvadex, Apo-Tamox, Tamofen, Tamone)
Hormonal Therapy
1/2/2007 Femara (letrozole)
Hormonal Therapy
10/22/2007 Arimidex (anastrozole)
Dx
1/3/2017, IDC, Right, Stage IV, metastasized to bone/lungs, ER+/PR+, HER2-
Chemotherapy
1/27/2017 Taxol (paclitaxel)
Hormonal Therapy
3/29/2017 Arimidex (anastrozole)
Targeted Therapy
4/20/2017 Ibrance (palbociclib)
Dx
10/12/2017, IDC, Right, Stage IV, metastasized to other
Chemotherapy
10/21/2017 Xeloda (capecitabine)
Radiation Therapy
11/16/2017 External
Local Metastases
11/16/2017 Radiation therapy: Bone
Hormonal Therapy
1/19/2018 Faslodex (fulvestrant)
Radiation Therapy
8/3/2018 External
Local Metastases
8/3/2018 Radiation therapy: Bone
Radiation Therapy
11/6/2018 External
Local Metastases
11/6/2018 Radiation therapy: Bone
Targeted Therapy
10/10/2019 Verzenio
Radiation Therapy
11/3/2020 External
Local Metastases
11/3/2020 Radiation therapy: Bone
Dx
1/22/2021, IDC, Right, 1cm, Stage IV, metastasized to liver, Grade 2, ER+/PR+, HER2-
Chemotherapy
2/4/2021 Xeloda (capecitabine)
Chemotherapy
10/8/2021 Other
Chemotherapy
1/7/2022 Other